Malala Yousafzai lobbies on Capitol Hill for global education funding

Education activist, student and 2014 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Malala Yousafzai speaks to staff members of the U.S. House and Senate in Washington on Tuesday. She is in the United States to advocate for girls' education with the Malala Fund, the non-profit organization she co-founded. Photo by Joshua Roberts/Malala Fund/UPI | License Photo

Education activist, student and 2014 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Malala Yousafazai walks to a meeting with a member of the U.S. Senate in Washington. Photo by Joshua Roberts/Malala Fund/UPI | License Photo

Education activist, student and 2014 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, Malala Yousafzai and her father Ziauddin Yousafzai arrive to meet with members of the U.S. House and Senate in Washington. Photo by Joshua Roberts/Malala Fund/UPI | License Photo

WASHINGTON, June 23 (UPI) --Malala Yousafzai, the 17-year-old Pakistani girl who won a Nobel Peace Prize for her advocacy for girls' education, asked U.S. lawmakers on Tuesday to increase funding for her cause.

Ahead of her visit, she released a statement calling for the United States to step up its funding for education worldwide.

"It is time that a bold and clear commitment is made by the U.S. to increase funding and support governments around the world to provide 12 years of free primary and secondary education for everyone by 2030," Yousafzai wrote.

The young lobbyist said she wants all governments to make the same commitment.